DBLog
can be installed form the source tarball or from the various
distributions packages. (Debian, Ubuntu, OpenSuSE, Madriva, Fedora,
Slackware and as 'autotools')

If you
decide to start from the source do the following:

As DBLog
is written in GAMBAS2 the first
step is to get GAMBAS >=2.5 up and running.

Make
practice with the IDE and run the examples that come with it.

In any
mode of installation you will need the following:

PostgreSQL
for storing qso data's and all configurations.

cwdaemon
for sending CW code.

rigctld
from hamlibs 1.2.10 (with the patch for the IC-706MKIIG) for
interacting with your radio.

xdx
for receiving cluster spots.

xplanet
for showing the earth map.

fldigi
for digimodes. Version 3.13BH is suggested for the new features.

wsjt
7 and wsjt.py modified, available on this site.

tail

so you
will need to install all these programs from your distribution, if
available, otherwise from the original sources, and configure them.

First
install and test the RDBM PostgreSQL; read the tutorial and spend few
days playing with 'psql', the program to interact with it.

If you
use PostgreSQL for the first time you should know that it comes with
two data bases named 'template0' and 'template1'. It comes also with
the user 'postgres'. So to connect for the first time the magic
command is:

psql
template1 -U postgres

If it
does not work possibly you have to edit as "root" the file
pg_hba.conf. For instance in SuSE 11.1 it is in
/var/lib/pgsql/data; or elsewhere depending on the distribution you
have (Debian has it in /etc/postgresql/8.3/main ).

In
Debian cwdaemon is stared at boot by inet.d. I do not know about
other distributions.

All
other programs are run (and killed) by DBLog when needed.

For
using the map produced by 'xplanet' you need to edit the file

/etc/xplanet/config/default

put

marker_file=/home/your_user/qthmarker

where
your_user is the name of your account.

DBLog
will write into this file call and coordinates of your qth and of the
other station.

Install
hamlib >= 1.2.7 : DBLog will use the daemon 'rigctld'. Update the
configuration table in accord to your radio brand and setup. In my
case data is stored in zp4kfxconf.db. You sure made your own file.

DBLog,
at start, runs 'rigctld' passing the configuration record found into
the 'configs' table. This table is loaded with the data's contained
in zp4kfxconf.db (in my case)...you do your own file.

Run
Gambas2, load DBLog and run it. (If starting from sources)

Connect
to the database with the right user name and password and enjoy it.

If the
database does not exist DBLog will ask you if you want create a new
one.

You can
edit the configuration records and select which configuration to load
at run

Just try
the 'Config' menu.

NOTE:
every configuration record MUST have a unic name.

In RUN
mode the qso start time (time_on) is updated when the call in
entered.

In S&P
mode it takes to decide when the time starts clicking on "Start
QSO".

If you
forget it the start time will be the one of logging.

The use
for logging QSOs is straightforward: in the main window write the
call, then press Tab to go to other fields. At the end of the QSO
<Log it>.

In the
CW Keyer window you can also press Bar Space or Enter to jump from
one field to the next one.

In the
SQL Request window you can give any kind of SQL command: search for
something, modify a record or delete what you want.

Keep the
SQL manual at hand !!!...and be careful !!

ADIF
export function remembers the number of the last exported qso. In any
case you can change the range to export.

Use
UTF-8 encoding for making back-up's of your data's; Use
ISO-ISO-8859-1 if that file will be used by other loggers not capable
of UTF-8 encoding.

The ADIF
import, imports ADIF files and updates statistics at the same time.
Errors are logged into the file ImportErrors.txt into your home
directory.

The
'Update Statistics' needs to be run after having loaded an empty data
base or any time you feel that something is wrong.

The
window "QSOList" shows the last qso's in the log at start
time.

If you
want to do a correction to a recent QSO, just click on it. All the
data's will be copied into the upper entry fields. Edit what you need
and then click button on the far right to change them into the data
base.

A right
click will allow to DELETE a qso....for ever.

When you
receive a new QSL, just write the call into the 'Call' entry field
and press 'Enter':

one or
more records will appear. Click on the confirmed one.

All
data's will be copied into the upper entry fields. Click on the QSL
button and then far right button for definitive change and statistics
update.

To get
the cluster spots from xdx it takes to configure it to write DX spots
to a file: Preferences..Output..Save DX Spots

You can
tune the radio clicking on a DX Spot in the Cluster window or in the
Spot window.

If you
set the RUN mode the window Spots will remember your CQ frequency in
case you move the dial around.

If in
S&P mode Spots remembers calls you entered in the main logging
window.

To get
this miracle there are two ways: change focus from the 'call' field
to some other or move the radio dial.

The Spot
window will follow the radio band if in mode 'Follow'.

Disable
Follow if you want S&P in other bands while monitoring the
previous band.

A right
click on Spot allows to delete a spot or to memorize it permanently.

To have
a good idea about the propagation you can NCDXF to tune them.

You can
be interested in a single beacon or in a band.

In the
first case select the beacon with the combo selector or just click

on the
beacon line. In the second case select the band with the combo.

You can
see the map with MAP. Stop the scanning before closing the window.

If you
want use DBLog as 'Log Server' read the file SERVER_DOC.

Changing
configuration on the fly will stop rigctld and start it again.

If the
QT libraries ar not installed, by default, dblog will use GTK that
does not look very nice. Please install QT.

The
configuration of QT can change notably the appearance of the windows.

You can
reduce the size of the window reducing the font size with 'qtconfig'.

Of course
you can change look and colors at your pleasure.

Possible
problems:

Sometime
clicking on a menu all X-windows get frozen...the reason is not known
at present. Just kill -9 dblog.

Sometime
exporting an ADIF file dblog crashes. The solution is in GAMBAS
2.14.1 and >